Early Blogging Inspirations
As someone who the media would label as a "millenial", I grew up with the internet, albeit not from the day I was able to sit like most children are these days. My introduction to the internet began at elementary school, when my teacher taught me what "www" stands for. In sixth grade a friend of mine who lived nearby and I went into an internet cafe near our house. There, I set up my first ever internet account, at Friendster. And later, Facebook.
That was back in 2007, where smartphones meant my uncle's gigantic Nokia 9500 Communicator, and blogging was a new thing.
In Indonesia, the successful bloggers from those early days still has a career in the industry, at least in some capacity. Indeed, a lot of bloggers ended up with book deals, in which their blog posts are adapted into books.
Unacquainted with blogs at the time and with limited internet access, I knew of them and of their blogs once their books started to be published in book stores.
Of those bloggers, there are two whose career I still follow.
One, Raditya Dika, became a major player in the Indonesian film and comedic industry. His personal blog was filled with his day to day experiences, showcasing the funny side of each story. He wrote about his family, his time at school and university, and finally his love life, all of which somehow are peppered with misfortunes. His love life, and the fact that he's been unmarried for a long time (that is until recently), became his brand. With indonesian singles crowning him as "Presiden Jomblo" or the "President of the Single People", his materials for his stand up comedy, film, and books became focused on his love life.
Nowadays Dika is no longer active in the blogging world; dedicating time to his youtube channel (which is the most popular in Indonesia), and to his movies. Sometimes I still watch his videos on youtube, although not often as I did when he vlogs the process of his film-making.
The second one is Trinity (a pen name she used to mask her identity to her employer at the time, but one she still uses). Her blog, The Naked Traveler, is the pioneer of indonesian travel blogging. Like Dika, she also writes with a comedic twist, somehow finding the right tone to induce the readers' laughter in relation to her misfortunes whilst travelling.
As a tween, I had admired Trinity greatly, and I still do. She has traveled to dozens of country, often alone, on a backpacker's budget. Her ability to make friends with anyone and anywhere is also a true cause of jealousy.
I believe that Trinity, and my parents instilled a love for travelling in me (my parents used to take our family for road trips across Java). But Trinity showed me through her writing that it is possible for indonesian women to travel alone, anywhere in the world, provided that they have enough courage to it.
Although Trinity's travelling style is very much 'see and do as I go', nowadays I have developed my own system that works for me as I travel, one that involved many websites for me to research on, and spreadsheets to organise everything. However, all her writing did impressed upon me that when your plan(s) didn't work, there will always be a way to work things out.
My blog is still evolving, with my interests not being focused on just one theme. As much as I love travelling, beauty, and fashion, I still want to express my opinion on matters that matter to me. And maybe, someday, I'll look back on this blog and think it of a success too.
xo,
Maria
That was back in 2007, where smartphones meant my uncle's gigantic Nokia 9500 Communicator, and blogging was a new thing.
In Indonesia, the successful bloggers from those early days still has a career in the industry, at least in some capacity. Indeed, a lot of bloggers ended up with book deals, in which their blog posts are adapted into books.
 |
| Trinity's 7th The Naked Traveler Book |
Unacquainted with blogs at the time and with limited internet access, I knew of them and of their blogs once their books started to be published in book stores.
Of those bloggers, there are two whose career I still follow.
One, Raditya Dika, became a major player in the Indonesian film and comedic industry. His personal blog was filled with his day to day experiences, showcasing the funny side of each story. He wrote about his family, his time at school and university, and finally his love life, all of which somehow are peppered with misfortunes. His love life, and the fact that he's been unmarried for a long time (that is until recently), became his brand. With indonesian singles crowning him as "Presiden Jomblo" or the "President of the Single People", his materials for his stand up comedy, film, and books became focused on his love life.
Nowadays Dika is no longer active in the blogging world; dedicating time to his youtube channel (which is the most popular in Indonesia), and to his movies. Sometimes I still watch his videos on youtube, although not often as I did when he vlogs the process of his film-making.
The second one is Trinity (a pen name she used to mask her identity to her employer at the time, but one she still uses). Her blog, The Naked Traveler, is the pioneer of indonesian travel blogging. Like Dika, she also writes with a comedic twist, somehow finding the right tone to induce the readers' laughter in relation to her misfortunes whilst travelling.
As a tween, I had admired Trinity greatly, and I still do. She has traveled to dozens of country, often alone, on a backpacker's budget. Her ability to make friends with anyone and anywhere is also a true cause of jealousy.
I believe that Trinity, and my parents instilled a love for travelling in me (my parents used to take our family for road trips across Java). But Trinity showed me through her writing that it is possible for indonesian women to travel alone, anywhere in the world, provided that they have enough courage to it.
 |
| A view of Heidelberg, the first city I traveled to without my parents, and also the first city I've lived in in Germany. |
Although Trinity's travelling style is very much 'see and do as I go', nowadays I have developed my own system that works for me as I travel, one that involved many websites for me to research on, and spreadsheets to organise everything. However, all her writing did impressed upon me that when your plan(s) didn't work, there will always be a way to work things out.
My blog is still evolving, with my interests not being focused on just one theme. As much as I love travelling, beauty, and fashion, I still want to express my opinion on matters that matter to me. And maybe, someday, I'll look back on this blog and think it of a success too.
xo,
Maria
Posts
No comments: